CRISP product, with full names of CRISP/32 and CRISP/64, is factory-automation software running under the OpenVMS (“VMS”) operating system. The “/32″ version runs on VAX systems running VAX/VMS or OpenVMS. The “/64″ runs in 64-bit mode on AlphaServer and Integrity Server systems. Quayle Consulting has been supporting the CRISP source code for several years, and migrated it from the 32-bit VAX to the 64-bit AlphaServer and Integrity servers.

Quayle Consulting Inc. has just reached an agreement with CRISP Automation to sell CRISP licenses and CRISP support contracts. For more information, please contact Quayle Consulting at www.stanq.com or post a comment on this page.

In Wired magazine, issue 18.11, there are a few mentions of Ticketmaster’s “old” system. Some looks at job sites like monster.com over the years shows that Ticketmaster is always looking for people with VAX and VMS talent. Could that be the “old” system that Wired refers to?

Funny, that “old” system withstands the assault of millions of people trying to buy tickets all at the same time. No other system has emerged that can handle that load — many have tried, all have failed.

As I’ve said before, “legacy” means “stuff that just works”. That’s VMS!

33 years ago today, the OpenVMS (formerly, VAX/VMS) operating system was announced. And it’s still going strong, with version 8.4 just released for the Intel Itanium processor used in the HP Integrity server line, and the Alpha processor, used in the HP AlphaServer product line.

Think about it the next time you send a text message — chances are, it was handled by VMS!

After decades of free patch updates for OpenVMS, Tru64, HP-UX and other HP operating systems, the HP support organization has decided to allow access only to customers with paid support contracts, effective September 18th. HP VP Jennifer Millier was grilled extensively at the OpenVMS Bootcamp yesterday. She invited us to send her email about how we are impacted. Here is my email:

Dear Ms. Millier:

Thank you for coming to the OpenVMS Bootcamp. Those of us at the front lines of VMS support appreciate your participation.

My company is very small. I provide support for a number of customers who do not have HP software support. Instead, I have been providing them with patch services and system administration services on an “as needed”, time-and-materials, basis.

I also provide patches for my CHARON-VAX and CHARON-AXP emulation clients, who are typically running ancient versions of VMS, in some cases all the way back to VMS 5.0. Support for VAX version 5.5-2 is available under Prior Version Support, and has had a few critical patches released over the last couple of years.

Now that ITRC is going to a “paying customers only” model, I will not be able to provide these services. My enterprise-level customers (General Electric, Northrop Grumman, etc.) typically have software support contracts, but most of my customers do not. In fact, many of those customers feel abandoned by DEC or Compaq, not realizing that HP now owns the VMS operating system.

This situation leads me to several questions:
* Do I have to buy HP software support for each customer?
* Can I buy a single “small” support contract for my company, and then provide patches for all my customers?
* What are the costs? I see no benefit to my company, just an increase in the cost of doing business.
* Can I get access to patches from AllianceOne (formerly known as DSPP)?
* Can we continue to get FTP access to the patches? The web interface is fairly painful to use, all but requiring Internet Explorer (which is not available on VMS, Linux, or even HP-UX).
* What about hobbyist systems? These are the only entry-level way to get exposed to VMS.

I know that you are not in a position to solve the problem, but I trust that you can take these concerns to the support-side of HP and come up with a solution. Their uni-lateral action has caused damage to dozens, if not hundreds, of small entities. And these entities are HP Partners!

Hello from Nashua NH. This week is the OpenVMS Advanced Technical Bootcamp. We started at 7:45 AM this morning, and went until 9:15 this evening.

The Bootcamp is held in Nashua because that was where VMS was originally developed. Unfortunately, Hewlett Packard canned the entire VMS development team a couple of years ago and moved development to India. *sigh*

I directed a session titled “Risk vs. Benefits of VAX/Alpha Emulation”. I’ll be doing it again Thursday afternoon. Here’s a link in case you can’t drop by and see it in person…